new york city, day two

[kismet09]

Yesterday, we got up at a reasonable hour and headed by bus to Chinatown. I've always preferred the bus to the subway 'cause you can see where you are. It's less expensive than a fancy bus tour, and almost as interesting (although I do love the double decker tour buses). We went to the Golden Unicorn (I think that's what it's called anyway) for dim sum, where I indulged in all of the foods that I so love (steamed pork buns, deep fried sesame pastries with lotus seed, and a bunch of other tasty nibbly foods). It's fun for us to eat with Rochelle, 'cause she's an adventurous eater, and likes things that Tim and I like, independent of each other. We can split things two ways twice, if that makes any sense.

From Chinatown, we walked through SoHo, and into the Village, with a quick stop at H&M in search of a t-shirt (which they didn't have). Rochelle headed home for a nap and to fight her cold, and Tim and I walked to Washington Square Park to check out the Scrabble scene. There were six people playing, on two boards (so four people were playing doubles on one, and two were playing on another -- 'real' Scrabble players would never play a four person game -- the distribution is all wrong, and there's not enough skill involved). I watched for a bit while Tim read, and then we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art by subway (it's much faster than the bus, even if it is dark). Tim went through the museum to see the El Greco exhibit, while I hung out in the gift shop. I was tired, and the museum's expensive, so I didn't feel like rushing through to try to check things out, and lose him, and end up more tired. I've been to the Met a bunch of times, so I was just as happy listening to the Christmas CDs on the listening station, and looking through postcards. After the Met, we walked down to the fancy Maison du Chocolat that just opened, gazed at pretty houses and pretty chocolates, and then took a bus all the way from 81st to past 1st, which takes a really, really long time. I had a nice nap, though, and enjoyed window shopping down Lexington Ave from the comfort of the bus. I think I walked about 4 miles over the course of the day. Walking feels so much better to me when I have a destination in mind. I'm not very good at walking just to walk.

Back to Rochelle's area, stopped quickly into Downtown yarns and picked up a couple skeins of mohair, which I think will work better in my scarf than the silky, thicker stuff I bought last night, and then to change and go to dinner. We ate dinner at Zanzibar, which is a fancy Mediterranean tapas place in the Theater District. We had:

Mediterranean Cigars - Phyllo Rolls Stuffed with Feta
Chorizos Al Vino Chorizo - Dates & Caramelized Onions
Phyllo Pies Stuffed with Eggplant, Onions & Tomatoes
Goat Cheese Salad - Almond Crusted Goat Cheese, mixed Greens & Roasted Pear Vinaigrette
Mezze - Hummus, Tabouli, Eggplant Salad
Moroccan Red Chicken with Squash Pie, and Apricot/Raisin/Almond Relish

plus I had a martini, and we had chocolate mousse cake and sorbet for dessert We ate for less than $30/person with tax and tip and a playbill.com discount coupon, and the food was quite tasty. I think I would eat moroccan-style chicken every day if given the chance. I love most entree type foods that involve fruity goodness.

Then, of course, there was Beauty and the Beast. Gaston and LeFou were both great. The Beast was decent, but he seems kinda new to the character, and played Gaston in the production before playing the Beast. I don't think he's done the best job making the transition, but maybe he'll get better with time -- I liked his voice when he let it out, but he spent a lot of time being overly dramatic, and he hissed his S sounds into the microphone in a bad, bad way. The actress who played Belle was an alto, which was a little problematic since the part is at least a second soprano, so she sang some harmonies down an octave and otherwise messed with the part in ways that I didn't think worked as well as the original, but maybe I'm just biased toward the original recording and Judy Kuhn's singing the part. There were other odd moments in the show, but overall is was a fun, eye candy experience.

On the way home, we stopped at Gracefully, a little upscale grocery by Rochelle's, and picked up Odwallas and Naked Juices to rehydrate before bed. I crashed pretty promptly once we got inside the apartment. I had a bizarre dream about Janelle and I going to a conference, and she kept driving past the turn off. Over and over - maybe twenty times. I have no idea what that was about.

Comments

[ntang.livejournal.com]

Ugh, Golden Unicorn is terrible, or at least it was when I went. You should check out Dim Sum Go Go, or Ping's (on Mott), or even Jing Fong, any of them (or most places, honestly) will have better dim sum than GU.

[kismet09.livejournal.com]

the things I eat are all so basic, that I don't think it'll make much of a difference -- and I like Golden Unicorn's tea :) but I will try to branch out next time I'm in town.

[porcinea.livejournal.com]

What do you think of Grand Harmony (98 Mott)?

[ntang.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Don't think I've tried it yet.

[ntang.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Haven't tried it yet.

[penchantnyc.livejournal.com]

I agree with Nick...but I ate with him at all four of those places....including the terrible GU meal.

[gruyere.livejournal.com]

Presuming that the Beast to whom you're referring is Steve Blanchard, he's...erm...been playing the role on and off since 1994, and continuously for about five or six years now. :)

[gruyere.livejournal.com]

Also, Judy Kuhn never had anything to do with BatB - Paige O'Hara was the voice in the film (both speaking and singing), and Susan Egan was in the OBC. Judy, much as I adore her, could never play Beauty...in anything. So to speak.

[kismet09.livejournal.com]

Susan Egan, that's who it was -- that's what I meant. I remembered Terrence Mann was the Beast, but I tend to overlook the girls' parts :)

And I'm sad that that Beast has been around for that long. Erg.

[gruyere.livejournal.com]

Susan and Judy, of course, did both later do Disney voices - Judy was the singing voice of Pocahontas, and Susan was the speaking and singing voices of Megara in Hercules.

[kismet09.livejournal.com]

and you are a fount of musical trivia! i'm very impressed :) which other sopranos do you recommend i listen to? i'm always looking for more to help me warm up for choir. right now, it's mostly linda eder, liz callaway, judy kuhn and audra macdonald.

[gruyere.livejournal.com]

Which kind of soprano? Are you looking for a more pop-belty soprano or a more traditional one? For the former, start by looking at just about anyone who's ever played Eponine. :)

[kismet09.livejournal.com]

more traditional, definitely. i don't have a belty voice at all - i'm still coaxing my voice to sing about a G :)

[gruyere.livejournal.com]

Then it's all about Rebecca Luker. :)